Finding Neverland
by k-a-dg
Summary: Tumblr roleplaying thread written in 2013. Paragraphs by Peter Pan written by Tumblr user iwontgrowup-peterpan. The characters of Peter Pan & Ariel are completely owned by the Walt Disney Company.


Ariel yawned and stretched as she walked aimlessly along the beach, the sand feeling warm and wonderful between her toes. That was something she could never get enough of. She'd spent 16 years without feet, and now any sensation she had with them was one that almost every other human would disregard. As she walked, she looked out over the sea, wondering what the other half of her family was doing now. She got to see them at least once a week, and they alternated their visits between on land and in the sea. Her Daddy would rise with her sisters to meet her on the shore by her and Eric's castle, or her Daddy would just come to change her into a mermaid for the day. Continuing to look out over the sea, Ariel noticed a flock of seagulls flocking around one area of the ocean. The princess thought it must be a fish, but then suddenly, something shot out of the water, flying higher and higher as the seagulls began to chase after it.

The boy eyes a flock of seagulls on a nearby rock from under the waves. He watched small air bubbles cloud around his nose and float up to the surface and counted the seconds that he had been underwater. Peter Pan was always a trickster, often preying on animals smaller than him, easily susceptible to Peter's childlike pranks.

Peter had counted 184 seconds underwater before shooting out from the water and scaring the sea gulls. He laughed in delight as he quickly caught sight of their petrified bird faces. He was even more delighted to find that the sea gulls so eagerly pursued Peter in the sky after recovering from their scare. Peter flew high and dove down towards the water laughing all the way. He was not trying to shake the sea gulls but simply wanted them to become more frustrated with him. At one moment, the red headed boy looked back to see just how far those sea gulls were from him. "You'll never catch me!" he cried in their direction.

Peter looked forward again and was surprised to see another red head, a young woman standing on the beach, watching him. But, Peter was flying too fast to slow down. "LOOK OUT!" he laughed, fully aware He would knock into her. And that he did. The sea gulls flew away, now Ben more afraid of the troublesome boy. Realizing what he had just done, the boy suddenly became very ashamed of himself for treating a lady in such a way. Peter Pan quickly stood up and helped the young woman to her feet as well. He very politely bowed before her and began walking away down the beach.

Ariel had watched the whole event take place, and she was so mesmerized by the flying boy that she couldn't move in time to get out of the way. With a gasp, she fell into the sand as the boy crashed into her.

Some sand had gotten into her mouth when she fell in the sand, so the first thing the redhead did was begin to desperately spit sand out of her mouth, making a sour face as she did so. She may be from the sea, but she did _not_ like having sand in her mouth.

She heard a voice and looked up to see the boy holding out his hand to her and apologizing. Dressed all in green, he looked like a little Christmas elf, but Eric had told her those didn't exist. Either way, she knew the boy was not from their kingdom.

"It's alright," Ariel said to the apologetic young boy. "Say," she started as she began wiping sand off of her dress, "where are your parents? Isn't it a little early for a little boy like you to be out here all alone?"

Peter turned around when he heard the woman's voice asking him a question. "Don't got any parents," he said, sitting himself down in the sand. Peter looked down and played with the sand in his hands.

The boy didn't quite enjoy thinking about the times, or people, he had before running away to Neverland. Though there are few, the memories aren't very happy according to Peter Pan. He doesn't spend much time reflecting on those memories either since unhappy thoughts always bring him down. Peter was eager to change the subject in this conversation. He looked back up at the young redhead, and still played with the sand in his hands. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.

By the boy's expression, Ariel could tell he didn't really want to elaborate more on the subject, so instead she sat down next to him, crossing her legs underneath her and leaning forward to gather some sand in her hands, too. She was quiet for a moment as she scooped up the warm grains and watched a million little pieces drop from her hands.

"I'm Ariel," she said with a smile, turning to look at him. "I live over there, in the castle." She nodded over to her & Eric's home.

Peter's eyes looked over to where Ariel had motioned. His face immediately illuminated when he recognized the building as a great castle. And there's only one kind of person who loves in a castle! And that's a princess.

"So you're a princess?!" Peter asked excitedly. "Like the ones in Wendy's stories?" Besides stories about himself, Peter loved Wendy's princess stories. Peter generally loved any story Wendy told, but princess one were definitely one of his favorites. He began to wonder which princess Ariel was. He couldn't really remember all of Wendy's stories off the top of his head.

Ariel giggled her girlish laugh and smiled. "Yes, I am," she replied, admiring her home along with the boy. "Only for about a few years, though. Wanna know a secret?" she asked, beginning to whisper. The princess could tell this boy wasn't from around here, so he couldn't possibly know about her past life, the way the rest of the kingdom did.

Peter nodded with excitement. What could her secret be? Was she under an evil spell? Did her prone save her from a fire breathing dragon? DID SHE FIGHT AND KILL PIRATES?! So many possibilities ran through the boy's head as he leaned in closer to hear the princess's secret.

Ariel bit her lip with a smile as she tried to suppress a giggle, amused by the boy's utter excitement. "I used to be a mermaid," she whispered, as if it was a secret that no one knew about her. "I was born a mermaid and was one for 16 years, until I met my husband." She paused, waiting for his reaction.

Peter gasped. "Really?! I know lots of mermaids back home. But none of them turned human." The boy thought about the Neverland mermaids. They are all so infatuated with Peter, something Tinkerbell doesn't really like. And those mermaids really enjoy Peter's stories! Except they are really afraid of pirates and don't fight very well. And Peter can bet them in swimming races. "The mermaids back home are kinda nice," Peter explained. "Except when they tried to drown Wendy."

Ariel placed her hand on her chest in shock. "Drown her? Why would they want to do that?" She scrunched up her face. "The mermaids I used to live with would never do something as awful as that."

Running her hands back through the sand, the princess asked, "So, who are you, exactly?" She just realized she didn't know anything about him, yet she was telling him all about her past life. She always ended up doing that without even realizing it: revealing too much about herself to a stranger.

"Aw they were jealous," Peter shrugged. "All girls get like that around me." Peter couldn't really believe that there are "nice" mermaids, but this princess did seem nice. It must be possible then. Neverland must just be backwards. I mean, time does stop there.

"Peter Pan," he introduced himself proudly, placing his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest.

"Peter Pan," she pronounced, biting her lip as she watched the boy's prideful act. "And where exactly are you from, Peter? The children around here certainly can't fly, but you can. It's quite spectacular, actually." She offered him a smile and looked out at the sea.

Peter Pan looked up to the sky. It was just dark enough to see the stars' glow slowly emerging amongst the purple hues of the night sky. Lifting his arm, he slowly guided his hand against the air above him. "Way out there," the boy answered. "You just have to follow all the golden arrows."

Following his hand with her gaze, Ariel squinted to see a large star exactly where he was pointing. "You live all the way up there?" she said in awe. She quickly turned her head to him. "And you fly there? Wow.." She turned her attention back to the star.

Peter watched Ariel turn her gaze to his star, his Neverland. He brought his hand to the side of his mouth as if to whisper something. "It's a secret place," he whispered. Only the special ones know about Neverland. Ones who can see Neverland in their dreams and believe it's real can go there. "Would you believe me? If I told you about it?"

"Oh, I see," Ariel whispered in return, suppressing a giggle. "Does that mean I'm special, too?" She looked up at the star a bit skeptically, then set her eyes back to him. She gave him a soft smile. "I think I just might."

The boy smiled. Somehow he knew he could trust Ariel. "I have a place, where dreams are born and time is never planned. You'll have a treasure if you stay there. For once you have found your way there, you can never EVER grow old," he explained. Peter's eyes brightened with every word he said to her. "It's an island, Ariel. Called Neverland. Do you want to see it?"

"Never grow up?" she asked in confusion, though she knew she couldn't tell Peter he was being ridiculous. She could see he trusted her with this information, and she had promised she wouldn't think he was crazy.

"Well, I, um.." she stammered, hesitant about what to do. "If I go there, will I be able to come home? I can't go if that's not the case." No way would Ariel be tricked into going to this "special place" if it meant she could never see Eric or Melody again.

Peter's expression immediately changed from a dazzling and charming smile to a sad and expressionless stare. Ariel's words repeated in his head a few times. "Will I be able to come home? I can't go if that's not the case," she told him. Peter just doesn't understand why people don't want to stay in Neverland. This time, he didn't even come out and ask if Ariel would be his new mother. He just asked if she wanted to see Neverland, but Peter won't deny he secretly did want to bring Ariel back for the Lost Boys. And himself.

Maybe it's a girl thing, Peter thought. Wendy's a girl. Ariel's an older girl. Do girls have something against Neverland? Memories of Peter's biological mother began to flood back into his mind. How she held that newborn in her arms. Rocking in Peter's rocking chair. The baby sleeping in Peter's old crib. How his mother replaced him. Oh how Peter loathed real mothers.

Wendy wasn't a real mother, and Peter knew that. It was just his game of pretend. He knew none of it was real, no matter what Wendy thought of it all. Still, that doesn't mean Peter didn't enjoy the game of pretend. And the way Wendy cared for the Lost Boys. And for him.

It wasn't until Peter noticed Ariel staring at him, waiting for his reply, when he snapped back to reality. He cleared his throat, attempting to shake out all the bad thoughts that were just brought about. Happy thoughts. Being a boy forever. Pixie dust. Dancing with the Indians. Giving Captain Hook a wedgie. That's much better. "I guess you don't have to go see it," he confessed. "You can close your eyes tightly…." explained Peter, hoping Ariel would follow his instructions.

Noticing his sudden solemn expression, Ariel reached out and gently touched Peter's hand, a motherly instinct flooding over her. "Well, are you sure there's no _possible_ way I could go, and then come back?" she offered. Then, upon hearing his instructions, she quietly did what he asked, hoping it would cheer him up from whatever he was suddenly upset about.

Peter flinched as Ariel touched his hand, and then quickly tugged it away out of her reach. No one has ever touched Peter. He didn't know why and he didn't like contact with other people unless he initiates it. He ignored the comment Ariel made. He wouldn't bring her to Neverland now knowing she won't stay. But when he saw her close her eyes, Peter's harsh expression lightened a bit. "Close them tightly," he said. "And you should see a pool of lovely pale colors. Squeeze then tighter and the pool will take on a shape. Suddenly, the colors would go on fire, and just before they do, you'll see Neverland."

Ariel squeezed her eyes shut even as he instructed, and at first, she couldn't see any colors that he was talking about. But she didn't want to disappoint Peter again, since it seemed she had done that just a few moments ago. For a few seconds she sat there, focusing on the back of her eyelids in a desperate hope to see some colors.

Just as she was about to tell him she couldn't see anything, Ariel noticed some colors, mixing together. She focused even more, and sure enough, she jumped as the colors seemed to light on fire.

"I.. I think I see it!" she exclaimed eagerly.

So she is one of the special ones, Peter thought. Only ones who truly believed Neverland existed can see the island. Knowing Ariel was special made Peter sad, however. She believed, but because of his selfish reasons, Peter would not take her. She would just leave him anyways. No way was Peter bringing someone to Neverland just for them to abandon him.

"Now you can see Neverland in your dreams," he said. "All the Indians, mermaids, and pirates. And me and the Lost Boys of course."

((Everyone just forget the fact that this has been inactive for 3 months ok. Annie let's finish up this one. :) ))

The redhead relaxed her eyes before opening them up again, squinting and blinking a few times as her sea blue eyes readjusted to the light. She looked over at Peter, noticing his melancholic expression. "That'll be nice," she replied awkwardly, unsure of what to say. He seemed upset. Granted, it was probably because she couldn't actually _go_ to Neverland. But this was better than nothing, wasn't it?

"You know there are mermaids in Neverland," Peter tried again, trying to convince Ariel to come away to Neverland. He knew that every girl, no matter of her age, was fascinated by mermaids. They sure helped get Wendy to Neverland, even though they nearly drowned her when she did get there.

"Don't you like mermaids?" he asked, putting on his best innocent face.

 _Everything always comes down to mermaids.._ Ariel bit her lip before responding, unsure of what to say. _Should I just tell him? He's a flying boy from a faraway place.. It shouldn't be too weird to him.._

"Um.. Well, yes, of course I do," she finally replied. "But, um.. Well, there's mermaids here, too. I think." She looked up at Peter carefully, trying to read his expression.

"Really?" Peter asked, not quite believing there were mermaids outside of Mermaid Lagoon. "Well if there are mermaids around here, I bet they're not as cool as the ones in Neverland. And they like me a lot. Like to hear my stories about my adventures. Sometimes I even play my pipes for them. But they get jealous a lot too."

As Peter explained the mermaids using the stereotypical descriptions of them as a whole, Ariel rolled her eyes to herself. "Well, not the ones I know. The ones I know are all kind and genuine, each with their own personality. They love playing music and going on adventures on their own." She crossed her arms before finishing, "They're my family."

"Well those mermaids sound fun," Peter asked. Once he registered what Ariel had told him, his blue eyes went wide. "They're…. your family?" He scratched his head in confusion. "But you got two feet. Mermaids have fish tails, not feet. You're lying."

Ariel shook her head convincingly. "Nope. I'm serious! Promise." She made an "X" over her heart. "It's.. kinda a long story. But basically what happened is I wanted to be human, went to an evil sea witch to get legs, fell in love with a human, and killed the sea witch." She paused before quickly adding, "Well, I had some help, anyways."

Peter smiled and crossed his arms at Ariel's explanation. "Sounds like a good story," he said. "I wonder if Wendy knows it. If she doesn't, she sure would like to hear it." Peter thought about telling Wendy Ariel's story and how fascinated she would be. The only person that likes stories as much as Peter is Wendy Darling.

"So," Peter started again. "Is your mermaid family human now too? Where do they live?"

"Maybe she does.. I mean, I don't think it's a very well-known story, but you never know.." Ariel thought about the times when complete strangers had asked her about her previous life as a mermaid. She thought her secret was still a secret, but maybe it wasn't.

The redhead sighed and replied, "No, they're not. They all still in Atlantica. I'm the only one who left… Actually, I think I'm the only mermaid to become a human."

"I'll ask her," Peter replied. He looked forward to seeing his friend again and eventually asking her if she knew anything about Ariel and her story. Peter also like the idea of maybe even being the one to tell a story this time.

"Where's A-plant-ica?" the boy asked. He had never heard of such a place and wondered what it could be like there. It can't be as cool as Neverland, that's for sure. "And if you're the only mermaid to become a human, then you're pretty unique."

Ariel giggled, "Not At _plant_ ica, At _lant_ ica. It's a kingdom under the sea, where I was born and grew up. I lived there for 16 years, and I've been here on land for 12." It was odd to the former mermaid that her life under the sea still outlasted her life on land; she felt like she'd been with Eric for longer than that."

"Yeah, I guess I am," she shrugged. "But more mermaids may be wanting to be human but can't. I was just lucky because my Daddy could change me himself. Not everyone possesses the power that my Daddy has in his trident," she explained.

"Oh okay," Peter said simply. With that, he got up to his feet and took off. Peter Pan often left conversation partners spontaneously. It wasn't that he was rude. Peter would simply get bored of just talking when there is a new and exciting adventure waiting for him somewhere.

Before Peter reached the Neverland star, he turned back to the now tiny figure with red hair standing on the distant beach. "See ya later, Ariel!" he called out and waved goodbye. He'll see his new friend again soon, this he promised himself.

When Peter suddenly took off, Ariel was a bit surprised. Maybe she talked too much. Or maybe he wanted to go ask his mermaid friends if they knew her. Ariel simply stood up and waved as he flew away. "Goodbye, Peter Pan!" she called up to the tiny green figure, wondering what it was like in Neverland.


End file.
